By
Kyle Faraday
Arizona Daily Wildcat
2nd ranked Cats travel to ASU/PING Invitational
The Arizona women's golf team will take on many nationally prominent teams, including in-state rival Arizona State, this weekend at the ASU/PING Invitational.
The tournament will be played Friday through Sunday on Arizona State's home course in Tempe. The course will also serve as the site of the Pacific 10 Championships later this month.
"We feel really good about where we're at right now," Arizona head coach Greg Allen said. "We have (freshman) Lorena Ochoa back for this tournament after she finished 21st in an LPGA event last week. There are great expectations."
Ochoa is currently ranked the No. 1 player in collegiate women's golf and has held the spot for seven consecutive weeks.
The Wildcats enter the weekend as the No. 2 team in the country, according to the MasterCard/CGF poll. They trail No. 1 Duke by four points in the latest poll despite having beaten them by 13 strokes in their only head-to-head meeting this season.
UA's other ranked players have helped keep the Wildcats in the mix nationally.
Freshman Natalie Gulbis checks in the new polls at No. 9, and junior Cristina Baena is currently ranked No. 21 in the nation.
"This tournament will be good for us because there is such a great field," Baena said. "We've been hitting balls for three hours a day, so we're going to come ready to play."
All of the Wildcats will have to come ready to play this weekend, as experience will likely be in short supply.
Sophomore Julia Kraschinski, who has been bothered all year by back problems, will likely miss the rest of the season. This leaves Arizona with only one returning starter from last year's NCAA National Championship team - junior Cristina Baena.
"I'm not worried about the experience factor with this team," Allen said. "We have been getting it done all year because the players we have love the pressure."
Kraschinski has competed in just two tournaments this year and has finished just one - last week's Rainbow Invitational in Hawaii.
UA finished a disappointing second in the tournament.
"We were really frustrated by that finish, and I think that it has motivated us for this week," sophomore Laura Myerscough said. "We got a little relaxed by the scenery in Hawaii, but we're ready to get down to business and win this weekend."
